1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electron-emitting device that performs electron emission through the application of a voltage, an electron source, and an image-forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electron-emitting devices heretofore known are generally grouped into two types: a thermionic cathode type and a cold-cathode type. Cold-cathode electron-emitting devices include field-emission (hereafter referred to as FE-type) devices, metal-insulator-metal (hereafter referred to as MIM-type) devices, and surface conduction electron-emitting devices,
For example, an FE-type device, such as the one disclosed by W. P. Dyke and W. W. Dolan in “Field Emission”, Advance in Electron Physics, 8, 89 (1956), or the one disclosed by C. A. Spindt in “PHYSICAL Properties of thin-film field emission cathodes with molybdenum cones”, J. Appl. Phys., 47, 5248 (1976), is known.
An MIM-type device, such as the one disclosed by C. A. Mead in “Operation of Tunnel-Emission Devices”, J. Apply. Phys., 32,646 (1961), is known.
Also, examples of devices which have been recently studied are as follows: Toshiaki, Kusunoki, “Fluctuation-free electron emission from non-formed metal-insulator-metal (MIM) cathodes fabricated by low current Anodic oxidation”, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. vol. 32 (1993) pp. L1695, and Mutsumi Suzuki et al., “An MIM-Cathode Array for Cathode luminescent Displays”, IDW'96, (1996) pp. 529.
An example of the surface conduction electron-emitting device is reported by M. I. Elinson in Radio Eng. Electron Phys., 10, (1965). The surface conduction electron-emitting device uses a phenomenon where electrons are emitted when an electric current is allowed to flow in parallel to the surface of a thin film that has a small area and is formed on a substrate. While Elinson proposes the use of an SnO2 thin film for the surface conduction device, the use of an Au thin film (G. Dittmer, Thin Solid Films, 9, 317 (1972)) and the use of an In2O3/SnO2 thin film (M. Hartwell and C. G. Fonstad, IEEE Trans. ED Conf., 519 (1983)) are also proposed.